Various decorative laminates are known, which are made of various resins such as melamine resins, diallyl phthalate resins, acrylic resins or polyester resins, and they are widely used in various fields. Constitutions of them are described in detail, for example, in New Reader of Decorative Sheets (published by New Building Materials Research Institute on Nov. 20, 1968) and Handbook of Decorative Sheets (published by New Building Materials Rsearch Institute on Oct. 30, 1973).
For instance, a melamine decorative laminates is roughly grouped into two groups of a high-pressure melamine decorative laminates and a low-pressure (middle-pressure) melamine decorative laminates. As a general constitution, a high-pressure melamine decorative laminates is composed of a dipped over-laying layer of a resin-dipped over-laying paper, a decorative layer of a resin-dipped decorative paper as designed to be bluish, blackish, whitish or grayish in accordance with the use (this is often called a pattern paper or titanium paper), a core layer of a resin-dipped core paper, and a balance sheet layer, as laminated in this order from the outermost surface layer.
In the above-mentioned decorative laminates having a surface layer of a thermosetting resin such as melamine resins, diallyl phthalate resins, acrylic resins or polyester resins, various methods have heretofore been proposed for the purpose of designing the laminated sheet. For instance, a decorative laminates having a surface layer with metallic gloss is disclosed in JP-B 63-22980 and JP-A 63-57232 and 63-84936. (The terms "JP-B" and "JP-A" as used herein mean an "examined Japanese patent publication" and an "unexamined Japanese patent application", respectively.) The contents of these published or laid-open specifications are roughly as follows:
(1) JP-B 63-22980 PA0 (2) JP-A 63-57232 PA0 (3) JP-A 63-84936
A thermosetting resin decorative laminates with metallic gloss is prepared by using a thick paper (cardboard) containing mica having a particle size of from 10 to 50 .mu.m and plural pigments, as the surface decorative paper. PA1 A high-quality decorative laminates having excellent durability and outward appearance is obtained by coating or impregnating a thermosetting resin containing a metallic gloss-imparting substance on or into the surface of either or both of an over-laying paper to be a surface-protecting layer or a decorative paper prior to integrating lamination of them with a substrate. PA1 A decorative laminates with a metallic glossy surface is obtained by printing an over-laying paper or a decorative paper with an ink containing a metallic gloss-imparting substance to be prepared by coating titanium oxide over the surfaces of pearlessence pigments or mica flakes.
However, the decorative laminates which have heretofore been proposed have no design art with a so-called fine dotlike tone.
(1) The decorative laminates as disclosed in JP-B 63-22980 is a so-called non-over-laying type decorative laminates not having an over-laying paper, but a design art with a fine dot-like tone is not applied thereto.
(2) The decorative laminates as disclosed in JP-A 63-57232 is one in which a thermosetting resin containing a gloss-imparting substance has been coated on or impregnated into an over-laying paper or a decorative paper. In the sheet, however, the gloss-imparting substance is not uniformly impregnated into the over-laying layer or decorative layer but is distributed essentially in the surface layer. Therefore, the sheet has a problem that the design thereof is lost due to abrasion.
(3) The decorative laminates as disclosed in JP-A 63-84936 is one in which an ink containing a gloss-imparting substance is coated over an over-laying paper or decorative paper. In the sheet, however, since the gloss-imparting substance is in the surface layer thereof, the sheet also has a problem that the design thereof is lost due to abrasion.
Where only an over-laying paper containing therein a substance capable of yielding a fine dot-like tone is used in preparing a decorative laminates, or where only an ink containing a fine dot-like tone-having substance is coated over an over-laying paper or decorative paper in preparing the same, the design of the sheet would often be lost due to abrasion. Therefore, especially when such a decorative laminates is used on a horizontal plane, the sheet hardly keep the design thereof continuously for a long period of time.